The sun moves through the day, and the shadows of each generated option sweep across the streets and the park.
Tall buildings cast long shadows, and in dense districts large parts of a city can sit in shade for extended periods. That changes temperature, vegetation and the wellbeing of the people who live and work there. Many zoning codes now limit the extent of shadow a new building may cast on nearby parks at certain times.
Canvas runs the shadow analysis on the digital model while the massing is still being decided. Planners and architects can see the effect of a new building on sunlight access, test tapered forms or a different placement, and compare scenarios through the year. The scenario-based analysis also reports the cumulative shadow duration around tall buildings.
The other lenses
WindComfort at ground level around the new volumes.
ResourcesEnergy and water demand of the plan as drawn.
NoiseExposure from roads and rail across the site.
MobilityAccess, parking and micromobility capacity.
EconomicsAssessed investment and yield per land use.
PermitCompliance against the local code, exported as a report.